Dentist
by enogk07
Summary: Thomas has to go to the dentist and is not too happy about it. The rest of the Sides coach him through it.


"Man I love being..." WHACK.

Thomas pressed his snooze alarm for the fourth time that morning and rolled back over. Meanwhile, Logan stared down at Thomas and rubbed his forehead. Thomas rolled back over, but Logan intervened and pulled the covers off.

Thomas groaned and stared up at his logical side. "Okay, I know I forgot to turn my alarm off yesterday, but it's Saturday. Can't I just stay here for a while longer?"

Logan shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, Thomas, you're going to be late. Don't you remember how hard it was to schedule an appointment in the first place?"

Thomas' stomach dropped. He'd totally forgotten.

Patton came over and cocked his head. "You gonna be okay, kiddo?"

Thomas shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah, of course. I'll-I'll be fine." He got up and headed for the bathroom.

As he picked up his toothbrush, Virgil showed up behind him. "You'd better make sure you do a good job with that," he said menacingly. "You know what'll happen if you don't."

Logan gave him a silencing glare. "Now Virgil, let's be reasonable. It's just a cleaning. Thomas has had plenty of cleanings in the past in which he's had no cavities, and based on how things have gone since his last appointment there's no reason to think he has any this time."

Virgil just smirked. "Yeah, but what if the dentist finds something that needs fixing? What if he needs a root canal? What if-" But Roman's entrance cut him off this time.

"WHAT IF you pretend you're a knight who must face the evil Novocain dragon in order to rescue the prince, and the only way you can defeat him is by staying calm in the face of fear."

"Ooh, like how Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to overcome Devil's Snare!" Patton piped up.

Roman jerked his head in acknowledgment. "Yeah, what he said."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Um, did no one listen to me when I pointed out that Thomas might not even have cavities?" But no one listened that time, either.

Roman's scenario got a smile out of Thomas, but even so Virgil's words gave him pause. He finished brushing his teeth and crawled back into bed.

Logan let out a frustrated sigh. "Thomas, please get up. Your appointment is one hour from now, and you're going to have to be out the door in the next 40 minutes in order to get there on time."

"Aw, that's plenty of time," Thomas whined. "I can get ready in five minutes at the most. That still leaves me at least thirty more minutes of sleep." He pulled his blanket back over him, and continued. "Besides, what's the big deal if I miss this one appointment? Why worry?"

Logan just stared down at him. "Why worry?" he asked, counting the reasons off on his fingers. "Let's see, you would be wasting your parents' money, you would be preventing yourself from getting the proper health care you need, and most importantly you would be making a very immature and foolish decision. Nobody wants to go to the dentist, but unfortunately it is something that must be done."

Thomas looked back at Logan timidly. "I know, I know. But I don't have anyone to go with."

Logan shook his head. "Well, whose fault is that, Thomas? Patton was trying to convince you to ask Joan to go with you when you saw them the other day, but you didn't listen."

"Yeah, of course he didn't listen," Virgil cut in. "That's because he was listening to me. Think about it, when's the last time you saw a grown man in the dentist's chair holding his best friend's hand?" He gave a smirk.

"Now hold on a minute, Dr. Drill!" Roman protested. "No one said anything about hand holding. But you know perfectly well that having a trusted friend around is helpful for Thomas in these...pointy medical device encounters."

Thomas winced at that wording, but he also nodded. "Well, it probably would help...but it's too late to do anything now. They're probably not even up yet."

Logan shrugged. "And that's unfortunate, but it may also be good for you to learn to do this on your own. Unfortunately, one cannot always rely on one's friends. Sometimes we have to face our fears alone."

Thomas laid back down, that sinking feeling now back in his stomach full-force. He knew Logan was right, but the harsh words just left him feeling worse than before.

The Sides all looked at one another, concerned. Finally, Patton got up and opened Thomas' drawer, pulling out the latter's favorite Steven Universe T-shirt. "Hey kiddo, maybe you could wear this today," he said gently. "Don't you think it would make you feel better?"

Thomas looked at the shirt and got up to take it, but Virgil spoke up again. "What, you want him to wear that and have everyone in the waiting room judge him for being a man child?"

Logan perked up, and Thomas could see his 'I've-done-research-on-this' face from a mile away. He said, "Actually, Virgil, Patton may very well have a point. Many studies have been done to prove that having some sort of comforting object during medical procedures are able to handle said procedures much better."

"Yeah, but those studies were done on kids," Virgil sneered. "Thomas isn't a kid anymore. He's not supposed to be scared of the dentist."

"Falsehood," Logan shot back. "Though Thomas' fears may be irrational, they are also quite common, and rooted in humans' deep-rooted, Darwinian desire to avoid physical pain. It's completely normal, regardless of age."

"Yes, Thomas, Logan is right," Roman said gently. "A fear of the dentist is nothing to be ashamed of. Joan has always stuck by you no matter what and never judged you for anything, and hopefully you know by now that they probably would have come over if you had asked."

"At the same time, there's no use in beating yourself up about it," Patton added. "Just keep that in mind for next time, but also keep in mind that you can do this yourself. Just take it one step at a time, all right, kiddo?"

Thomas smiled for real this time, and took the shirt from Patton.


End file.
